Level your horizon

Okay, so you took a picture of the setting sun, magnificent in its reddish hue with the sky almost on fire. You even reviewed the image in your camera’s tiny LCD screen and it seemed fine. Now you’re excited to go home to transfer the photos on your computer. Lo and behold, when you viewed the photo on your large PC monitor, the horizon was leaning to one side. Seems like the setting sun had gained weight and the picture was right-side heavy! Some digital cameras have line grids that can be seen when you peer through the viewfinder which is quite helpful especially when taking pictures of horizons. Other digicams don’t have this feature. But no worry. You can straighten slanted horizons during photo editing. The tool I use for this is PhotoScape. It is a free image editing software with tons of functions for basic and semi-advanced processing. I use it to enhance colors, provide back light, deepen tones, sharpen edges, add contrast and many other adjustments. One of its nifty features is a simple slider for leveling an uneven horizon. No more right or left-heavy photos from now on. You can download PhotoScape from its website. (Photo location: On a ship in the middle of the sea off the coast of Panay Island)

Compose. Capture. Create. You don't have to be technically proficient. You don't need to own the most expensive camera. The art of photography requires perception, passion and persistence. Every image you take is a story. Be true to your art and tell your story well.